Climate, the New Institutional Economics, and Development

Anne McCants, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Dan Seligson, Independent

What role does climate play in the long course of economic development; or similarly, what contribution does it make to human wellbeing? The New Institutional Economics has proclaimed that 'Institutions Rule,' such that cultural and geographical factors, climate among them, play only a limited role at best. This claim goes against the grain of both lived experience as well as several millenia of distinguished commentary (from Aristotle, Ibn Khaldun, Montesquieu, and Smith to name only some). Is the claim true? We employ a new theory of coevolving institutions and the economy, in which institutions are sources of economic growth rather than constraints or rules, and which accounts for dissipation in both the economy and institutions, to show that climate is indeed a potent force in allowing for or retarding development. Multivariate analysis allows us to measure the effect of climate on development and wellbeing in a context of a wide range of cultural, geographic, and historical factors.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 200. Land, Climate, Conflict and Mobility